Union Interior Minister Amit Shah is in Bengal on a two-day visit before the Assembly elections next year (archive)
Calcutta:
Trinamool Congressional Deputy Derek O’Brien criticized Amit Shah on Sunday for “7 pieces of false and fabricated information in a speech,” a day after the Union Interior Minister attacked the chief minister of Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, during an election rally in the Midnapore district.
O’Brien, who frequently “fact-checks” attacks on ruler Trinamool, tweeted a screenshot of seven claims made by Shah, whom he painted the “henchman of the tourist gang (a reference to Ms. Banerjee describing the BJP as “outsiders”) – and offered counter-statements to each.
“#FactCheck from the speech given in Bengal by the henchman of the ‘tourist gang’. 7 pieces of false and fabricated information in a speech. Actually, by your standards, quite low!” Mr O’Brien said.
O’Brien spearheaded Amit Shah’s claim that Mamata Banerjee had “left Congress for another party,” a pointed attack on a day in which more than a dozen MPs and MPs from Trinamool, Congress, and left-wing parties they joined the BJP in the Presence of the Minister of the Interior.
In his rebuttal, Mr. O’Brien noted that Ms. Banerjee “did not defect … created a NEW party” and reminded Mr. Shah that he had resigned from Congress in 1998 to create the Trinamool.
# Fact review of the speech delivered in Bengal by the henchman of the “tourist gang”.
7 pieces of false and fabricated information in a speech. Actually, by their standards, quite low! pic.twitter.com/MgvktqcFt3
– Derek O’Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) December 20, 2020
On Saturday, Amit Shah unleashed a series of attacks against Mamata Banerjee, declaring that her “misrule, corruption and nepotism” was the reason so many people left her party. The comments came as Suvendu Adihkari, who complained of “deep rot” at Trinamool, joined the BJP.
“Why are so many people leaving Trinamool? Due to the bad government, corruption and nepotism of Mamata Banerjee. I did, This is just the beginning. When the moment of the elections comes, he will be left alone, “he said.
Trinamool has ignored the exits and described the outgoing leaders as passive.
O’Brien also confronted Shah over the attack on JP Nadda’s convoy last week, when the BJP chief was traveling to a public event near Kolkata. The BJP has alleged a “serious lack of security” and the incident has sparked (another) dispute between the two parties.
“The Bengal government has provided Z + security for JP Nadda, but violated all regulations by allowing a large convoy of vehicles to follow,” replied the Trinamool leader.
O’Brien also struck back at the blows in Trinamool’s development record; Shah claimed that the Bengal government had denied farmers 6,000 rupees financial benefits and prevented the deployment of Ayushman Bharat, the center’s flagship health insurance scheme.
He said a state plan – “started two years before Ayushman Bharat” – guaranteed Rs 5 lakhs per year to more than 1.4 million families. He also said the state offered a higher profit per acre for farmers, providing them 5,000 rupees per acre compared to the 1,214 rupees per acre under the PM Kisan scheme.
The MP from Rajya Sabha also defended the Bengal government against claims that it had “appropriated” food and grain for the people, that it had done little for the housing of the poor.
The BJP has been investing unprecedented amounts of time and resources in the state before the elections, seeking to replace the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee from power. Shah, who also visited the state last month, has set the party a target of 200 out of 294 seats.
Shah’s visit has triggered a flurry of mocking tweets from the Trinamool, including one mocking him for a photoshoot during a pre-arranged lunch at a farmer’s house yesterday.
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